I see more problems ahead of Dallas, besides the fact that they lost to Sacramento in round one, they have many question marks heading into the summer. Coaching. Don Nelson said after the game he expected to stay in Dallas, stating he had a 3 year deal in Big D, however he didn't sound confident one bit. Everyone has heard that Nelly may very likely be fired if Dallas flopped in the first round, so lets see what happens. Avery Johnson perhaps making his "Big" Return? Contracts. Next Season Dallas will have the highest payroll in the entire league. The interesting part is that they will also have some free agents in Steve Nash, Marquis Daniels, and Travis Best. Resigning two of the three of those guys could boost their payroll upwards of 100 million a year which is unheard of. I don't think any team, any management, or any owner is happy with that kind of money being dished out for a team that's only winning a single game in round one. Changes will be made, alot for less talent in exchange for less expensive contracts. My Predictions: Steve Nash signs for big bucks outside of Dallas, forcing Dallas to resign Marquis as their starting point guard who has played tremendous since the ALLSTAR break. Walker and Finley are likely to be gone. Antoine Walker because he's 3rd best at his postion behind Jamison and Dirk. He has an expiring contract which will make him more valuable on the open market. Michael Finley is likely to be gone because of his age and the fact that he makes 14 million plus dollars a season for the next 4 years. Certainly his production has dropped off and as he ages his skills will deminish and he won't be worth nearly that much. I'd expect Dallas to make a run at Portland's Shareef Abdur-Rahim. They may have to get rid of Jamison instead of Walker, but they desperately need that low post presense. Should be interesting...
A disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Mavericks. They played their heart out tonight yet they still lost the game. Nowinski and Nash had amazing games but unfortunately for them, Bibby had a career game and Miller came up huge. The Mavericks need to make some big changes this offseaon. They have to dump Jamison and Walker and rid of their contracts. I love Finely but he is not giving them much anymore. I hear all this stuff about him being the heart of the team but he still has to produce on the court and he didn't do that in this series when they needed him most. If I'm the Mavs, I must hold on to Steve Nash. This guy is the heart of this team if you ask me. They need to get guys that are defensive minded players. They already have a big scorer in Nowinski and Nash can provide offensively too. Their defense is absolutely horrible and they must address this in the offseason.
What do you think about the rumors swirling of Nash wanting to return to Canada with the Raptors. Before this collapse, I wouldn't have given it much thought since he loves his "Big 3" teammates. But after last night, I don't know. Mainly because the Big 3 might be broken up. The final play was a disaster. I just looked at the screen, muttering "That was bad". I love Nash, Dirk, and Finley, but what Nash said in the post-conference is true. The need to change their identity. It seems to me, that the Walker deal doomed both franchises this year. Boston could've been more effective and placed higher in the seeding, and he added some "O" rebounding (which surprised me cause Dallas doesn't really do the rebounding thing). But, overall I'd say bust. I think Nellie does great with what he has though. I feel for Dallas in this situation. I REALLY expected it to go 7 though.
Nash and Nowitzki. That is the Mavericks, anything else is a farce. They were the driving force behind their play last night when they played about as well as they could. There is no way Cuban lets Nash leave. He lets Nash leave, the AA will not be filled next year, the engine will not run. Marquis Daniels was a true find but he's not and will not be the point guard that Nash is. He's a scorer/slasher, not a PG. Getting "rid" of Finley and Walker sounds easier said than done. Finley is an aging swingman who is due $64M; who's going to bite on that? Walker is attractive, he's got one year left at $14M but you know, he actually played decently last night as a 5, not a point forward. Will he accept that role for a full year? Jamison fits perfectly with Nash and Nowitzki. He rebounds, gets garbage buckets and can hit the jumper occasionally. The Mavs need a center and a Bruce Bowen defender. PJ Brown would be perfect (not available.) Man put Rasheed and Sabonis on that team and you are going somewhere. Too bad Brad Miller is no longer available. The Mavs are the funniest team to watch, maybe the Kings, and I sure hope they endure and do not fade into the sunset.
What the Mavs need to do.. Trade Walker, a filler and some picks and get a decent center, true enough Walker was a good banger in the post but heck we need a defender not a scorer there are plenty teams in the leauge who would want Walker, there arent anythat I can think of but there are some..
